


Nothing You Can Do

by winnerstick



Category: Les Misérables - All Media Types
Genre: AU, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-09
Updated: 2013-04-09
Packaged: 2017-12-07 23:14:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,250
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/754231
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/winnerstick/pseuds/winnerstick
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Grantaire was always so much better at showing his affections for Enjolras.</p><p>Based on this picture: http://aparticularlygoodfinder.tumblr.com/post/47426961175/hes-started-to-forget-the-sound-of-your-voice</p>
            </blockquote>





	Nothing You Can Do

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [A World, Off-Center](https://archiveofourown.org/works/755068) by [ryssabeth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/ryssabeth/pseuds/ryssabeth). 



He was always doing embarrassing things. He set out, as if he was on a mission, to make Enjolras squirm in his seat in front of their friends. He was quite fond of public displays of affection, even though that sort of behavior set Enjolras on edge. He didn't like to be watched when he was indulging in private matters, and everything with Grantaire was a private matter to Enjolras.

  
It wasn't that he wanted to hide Grantaire away, he just wanted it to be their secret. To be special for them. He wanted kisses and kind words and all affections to be kept behind closed doors, because it was no one else's business how they were when others were around. It was no one else's business the way they spoke to each other and how they touched each other ever so lightly when they just wanted to feel the warmth of the other's skin.

But that wasn't Grantaire's way at all. He aimed to get a rise out of Enjolras and to watch him squirm and curse. He wanted Enjolras to be embarrassed in front of everyone just so that he could watch Enjolras's eyebrows knit together in frustration and his mouth harden as his posture tensed. Enjolras didn't like being made a fool of, especially not in front of people he respected and expected the same respect in return. Grantaire, however, wanted to break down that wall, no matter who was around. 

He had evil intentions, but also good and kind and sweet ones. He wanted to show the world how much he loved Enjolras. Grantaire wanted everyone to see how much he adored being around him and touching him and messing with him and kissing him. He wanted to show everyone in ways that words couldn't convey the true depth of his love, and he showed it in ways that only Grantaire could.

And Enjolras let him. He let Grantaire tease him and touch his arm and kiss him so hard it left him breathless and his friends laughing at his flushed face around him. He let Grantaire cover his eyes and play the "Guess who?" game, as if it would ever be anyone else. Enjolras even tried to return the favor sometimes, in ways that only Enjolras could do. By making an effort to always sit next to him and order Grantaire's favorite drink if he was running late or picking out something special from every outing that Grantaire couldn't join them. He couldn't profess his love around other people, not in so many words or actions, but he could subtly let them all know who had his heart.

So when Grantaire first added that addition to his voicemail, Enjolras let it slide. He stamped his feet and demanded that Grantaire take it out, but he let it slide anyway, because they both knew if Enjolras was serious, he would make it happen. Marius and Courfeyrac teased him mercilessly, finally having some solid ammunition against Enjolras, and played it over and over.

_"If this is Enjolras, I love you. And also, I've embarrassed you on my voicemail, and there's nothing you can do. There will be a beep. That's your cue."_

It was dumb and it was so unbelievably Grantaire that sometimes it hurt, and Enjolras couldn't help but love it, secretly, unbeknownst to everyone. Sometimes, he was happy when Grantaire didn't answer his phone, and he called him when he knew the other male was working, just so he could hear it. He'd come up with excuses so Grantaire didn't catch on, but he was pretty sure the other male did, anyway. He was pretty smart, especially when it came to all things Enjolras.

At first, it was light-hearted and fun.

But that night, when he got the call that changed his life, it stopped being light-hearted and fun.

It was late, probably around two or three in the morning, and Enjolras was asleep. When he woke up, he was groggy, and the voice on the phone had to repeat herself three times before Enjolras understood what she was saying. He didn't even bother saying goodbye, he just hung up the phone and ran to his car. The lights weren't turning fast enough, the car wasn't doing a good enough job speeding up, his heart wouldn't slow down, and his breath wouldn't stop coming out in body shaking heaves as he tried, with all his might, to stop the flow of tears threatening to burst free.

_Stop, you don't know. He could be fine. They could have fixed him up already._

But in the back of his mind, he knew that wasn't true. His stomach was down to his shoes and his heart was in his throat. His head thrummed as he finally, _finally_ , made it to the hospital and through the doors, shouting at the nurses for Grantaire's room.

_"Where is he? Where is he? Grantaire, where is he? Where can I find him?"_

He found him on a hospital bed with doctors and nurses all around, each one of them shouting at each other just as urgently as Enjolras had shouted at the people in the waiting room. Once he was in the door, his feet were planted by the wall, staring. They shouldn't have let him in there, didn't want to, really, but the moment they said _"He's in there-"_ he was through the door, missing the end of the sentence: _"-but you cant go in there yet."_

No one stopped him. The nurses looked at him occasionally, with pity in their eyes and orders on their lips, as the sounds of the room hammered at his ears. If they said anything to him, he couldn't hear it. He couldn't distinguish from one sound to the next; the beeping, the urgent voices, the sound of feet stepping and metal tapping against metal, all mixed together. None of it was making any sense in his mind as Grantaire-- _his_ Grantaire--laid there motionless with his eyes closed and his forehead bleeding and a slew of other injuries masked by gloved hands.

A million miles a second to sudden brakes. The beeping stopped and turned into a long drone. The voices quieted and their hands stilled. Time seemed to slow down for a moment as their tried to shock him back to life, but it did nothing. His eyes didn't open, his mouth didn't stretch into that grin Grantaire saved special for Enjolras. He didn't tease or make light of the fact that he was battered and bruised and surrounded by doctors. He just laid there, motionless, lifeless, as at least a ton of invisible mass hit Enjolras's chest with a crushing blow.

_"Time of death: Three oh eight a.m."_

Enjolras didn't know what happened after that. He didn't know how he woke up in his own bed the next morning with his eyes puffy and his throat hoarse. Someone--Eponine, probably--was in the kitchen making coffee and the house was silent, painfully silent, around him. He lifted his phone to his ear, dialing the number he had memorized by this point, and closed his eyes against a new flood of tears he was powerless to stop as the phone, long since out of battery, went straight to voicemail.

_"If this is Enjolras, I love you. And also, I've embarrassed you on my voicemail, and there's nothing you can do. There will be a beep. That's your cue."_

_"I love you, too."_

**Author's Note:**

> follow me on tumblr? au-grantaire.tumblr.com ~


End file.
